Projecting kaleidoscopic designing machine



July 29, 1952 C. F. J. DES MOI NEAUX PROJECTING KALEIDOSCOPIC DESIGNING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 6, 1949 INVENTOR CHASF. d. DES MOI NEAUX.

ATTO R N EY y 29, 1952 c. F. J. DES MOINEAUX 2,604,312

PROJECTING KALEIDOSCOPIC DESIGNING MACHINE Filed Sept. 6, 1949 5 Sheets- Sheet 2 KNVENTCR CHAg. F. J. DES MO! NEAL! X ATTO RN EY y 1952 c. F. J. DES MOINEAUX 2,604,812

PROJECTING KALEIDOSCOPIC DESIGNING MACHINE INVENTOR CHAS. F. J. DES MOINEAUX ATTORN EY Patented July 29, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROJECTING KALEIDOSCOPIC DESIGNING MACHINE Charles F. J. Des Moineaux, Denver, Colo.

Application September 6, 1949, Serial No. 114,212

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a Kaleidoscopic designing device, and has for its principal object the provision of a highly eflicient, versatile device which will create and produce formal designs from arbitrary pattern sketches and illustrations whereby the designs may be copied for use in designing wall paper, linoleum, tile, and other surface-ornamented products.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the device that an infinite variety of differing designs may be created from the same original pattern, and in which any of the designs so produced may be reproduced at will at any time.

Kaleidoscopic devices have been used for producing accidental designs from various subject matter, but in all of these the produced design is completely and permanently lost as soon as the device passes to the next design and the design cannot be again accurately and truly reproduced at will. Reproduction of a former design is an essential feature in a device of this type, since it allows the operator to pass through a number of various designs in order to make a selection of the preferred design. With this improved kaleidoscopic designing device the selected design of a group of designs may be accurately reproduced at any time.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efliciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numeralsrefer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved kaleidoscopic designing device, partially broken away to illustrate interior construction;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through a lightprojecting member employed on the improved device;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic, perspective view, illustrating the operationof the device;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-section, taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail, fragmentary view of a lens 1 housing employed on the improved kaleidoscopic designing device;

Fig. 6 is a detail, perspective view of a refleeting unit employed in the device;

Fig. 7 is a detail, perspective view, looking upwardly at the pattern framing mechanism of the improved device;

Fig. 8 is a similar View of a pattern-supporting member employed therein;

Fig. 9 is a top, perspective view of the traming mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a side perspective view of the pattern-supporting member of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 11 is a detail, perspective view, illustrating the rear face of a pattern card employed in the device.

The device is supported from a work table or board [2 upon a suitable tubular pedestal I3, which may be mounted in a supporting flange I 4 on the board I 2. A bracket member |5 is slidably mounted on the pedestal l3 and may be locked in any desired vertical or radial position about the pedestal by means of a clamping device [6.

' The bracket member 15 supports a hollow lamp housing I1, the top of which carries an elongated track plate l8 extending radially from the axis of the pedestal l3. A viewing opening I9 is formed through the track plate over the housing [1, and a mirror tube extends downwardly from the opening I9 through the bottom of the housing, terminating therebelow. A pair of vertically elongated mirrors or reflecting surfaces 2| extend from the opening l9 down wardly through the tube 20 to the bottom thereof, where they are supported on a bottom plate 22 secured to the bottom of the tube 20 by means of suitable attachment screws 23, or in any other desired manner. A light opening 24 is formed in the bottom plate 22 below the mirrors 2|.

The two mirrors 2| are mounted in V-formation, being joined together along one of their vertical edges by means of a flexible hinge member 25, and being spaced apart along their other vertical edges by means of spacer strips 26. ,The

spaced apart sides of the mirrors are directed rearwardly toward the pedestal [3. A front plate 21 closes the spaced-apart sides of the mirrors 2| from the bottom plate 22 upwardly to a point below the track plate [8.

The upper edge of the front plate 21 terminates suiliciently far below the track plate 18 to leave a lamp opening 28 therebetween. An electric lamp 29, preferably of the internally silvered, reflecting type, is mounted in a suitable socket 30 within the lamp housing I! so as to project light upwardly through the viewing opening l9.

Current is conducted to the lamp 29 in any desired manner such as through a lamp cord 3|, preferably extending through the pedestal 13 to a receptacle plug 32, and controlled by means of a suitable control switch 33 on the pedestal l3.

A pair of inclined spaced-apart slide rods 34 extend downwardly from the bottom plate 23 in parallel relation. The rods 34 are inclined rearwardly, that is, away from the spaced apart sides of the mirrors and toward the pedestal, as they approach the bottom, at an angle of substantially 10 from the vertical. A lens barrel 35 is supported on the slide rods 34.

The barrel 35 is provided with rod cars 35 encircling the rods. A spring tube 37 extends along each rod between the ears 36 at that side and each tube contains two leaf friction springs 38, which frictionally engage the rod to support the barrel 35 at any desired height thereon.

An expansible bellows 38 extends from the lens barrel E to the bottom plate 22 to confine the light therebetween. An objective lens 55 is positioned in the bottom of the barrel 35, and a light opening it is formed in the top thereof.

The image of anything positioned in the viewing opening i9 will be luminated by the lamp 29, and this image will be re-reflected kaleidoscopically between the mirrors 2i and through the light openings 71 and ll. The kaleidoscopic image will be focused through the objective lens is to produce an illuminated image on a sheet of paper 42 mounted on the board 12, as shown at 'H in Fig. 1 and '52 in Fig. 3.

Means are provided for supporting and adjusting arbitrary patterns at the viewing open ing 19. This is accomplished by placing a slide block 43 on the track plate l8 so that it will be guided transversally across the viewing opening [9. The pattern or sketch from which the de sign is to be created is drawn upon a pattern card 44, as indicated at 45. The back of the card 44 carries magnetic material 4%, such as iron filings or the like, adhesively applied thereto. The magnetic material causes the card to be supported by means of permanent magnets G! which are imbedded in a guide channel Q3 formed in the bottom of a pattern disc 49.

The pattern disc 59 is positioned in an elon gated, mortised cavity 55 formed in the bottom of the block 43 and is supported on a pattern shaft 5! which is suspended from a pattern gear 52. The pattern shaft is journalled in a sector arm 53 which is swingingly mounted on a pivot stud 5Q extending upwardly from a gear plate 55 secured on the top of the slide block 43. The sector arm 53 is free to swing back and forth about the vertical axis of the pivot stud E l, an arcuate slot 56 being provided in both the plate 55 and the block 4-3 to accommodate this swinging movement. The free extremity of the sector arm 53 is supported on a supporting roller 5": which rolls upon the surface of the plate 55.

The pattern gear 52 is rotated from a hand crank 58, which is supported from a crank post 59 on the plate 55. The crank 58 transmits rotation through a train of gears t and an intermediate gear S! to the gear 52. The inter-- mediate gear GI and the pattern gear 52 are of the same size so that both retain their relative positions at all times. The intermediate gear El carries an annular index scale 62 upon which positions are indicated by means of a stationary index pointer 53.

The pattern gear 52 is provided with a plurality of pin receiving sockets B l, each socket being positioned at a different radius from the axis of the gear 52 than the remaining sockets. The sockets Eli are designed to receive the extremity of a fulcrum pin 65 which is mounted for vertical movement in the extremity of a fulcrum lever 35. The fulcrum lever Gil is mounted on a hinge pin 3"! extending upwardly from the plate Thus, it can be seen that if the pin 55 be positioned in a pi secret 64 adjacent the axis of the gear a d if the gear be rotated, it

will cause the gear 52 to rotate eccentrically about the pin 65, causing both the sector arm 53 and the fulcrum lever 66 to oscillate, so that the shaft 5i will rotate and simultaneously move back and forth in its slot 56 and the pattern disc 49 will also rotate and simultaneously move back and forth in its cavity 50.

If the pin 65, however, be dropped into one of the pin sockets 65 at a wider radius from the center of the gear 5'2, it will increase the cocentricity of the gear 52, causing the pattern disc 49 to swing on a relatively wider arc. The various pin sockets may be identified by means of numbers or letters as indicated at 15.

The pattern disc 49 can also be moved transversally by sliding the entire block 43 along the track plate 13. The position of the block along the track plate can be noted on a track index scale t8, the indications of which register with an index mark E8 on the track plate l8.

Let us assume that a pattern, such as shown at in Fig. 7, be sketched upon the pattern card 44 and the card positioned in the pattern disc iii. The block 13 is moved to position a portion of the pattern over the viewing opening is and the lamp 29 is illuminated. The bracket I5 is raised or lowered to produce the desired enlargement of the image. The lens box 35 is then raised or lowered to properly focus the image on the sheet of paper 62.

An infinite multitude of designs may now be produced on the paper 12. These designs may be varied, either by sliding the block 43 along the track plate i8, so as to expose various portions of the design to the viewing opening 19, or by rotatthe crank 58 to simultaneously rotate and oscillate the pattern. Every movement of the pattern in any direct-ion produces a completely new and different design on the sheet of paper 32. If at any time the operator perceives a design in which he believes he would be interested, he makes note of the position of the index mark 68 on the scale 68, the position of the pointer 53 on the scale 62, and the position of the fulcrum pin on the fulcrum gear 52. He can then again return to this exact design at any time by simply placing the proper pattern card on the pattern disc 42, the pin 65 in the proper socket, and then placing the movable devices to the indications given thereon.

It desired to call attention to the fact that each shift of the pattern block provides the basis for an infinite number of designs and each shift of the fulcrum pin provides an entirely new basis for a second series of an infinite number of designs. The patterns usually cover a much greater area than the viewing opening so that every movement of the device exposes a different area of the pattern.

The 10 angle of the slide rods 34 positions the axis of the objective lens in alignment with "re image rays reflected from the mirrors 2| so as to remove all angular distortion from the refiected image. It is possible that with mirrors of different length and with various elevations of the viewing opening this angle will vary from the 10 setting of the present device.

Pins it? are provided in the slide block for holding a protective cover (not shown) in place over the various gears. Handles T3 are provided on the slide plate to facilitate movement of the latter. An index mark 14 is placed upon the pattern disc at to register with a similar mark on the pattern card .4 to insure proper positionof the latter.

It is of course to be understood that the selected images H may be traced upon the paper in any desired medium such as colored inks or paints or in pencil or crayon. It may also be reproduced photographically if desired. If it is not desired to copy the design at the time, note is made of the various indexes which produced the design and it can then be reproduced at any later time.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A Kaleidoscopic designing device comprising: a pair of elongated inwardly facing reflecting surfaces lying together along one of their long sides and being spaced apart along their other long sides to form a V-shaped trough; an objective lens positioned to receive reflected rays from said surfaces at one extremity of said trough; a design receiving surface upon which the rays from said lens are focused; a rotatable pattern disc supported at the other extremity of said trough; means for attaching a pattern to said disc so that an image thereof will be reflected in said reflecting surfaces; means for rotating said disc; means for shifting said rotatable disc transversely across the axis of said trough; and a lamp positioned at one side of said trough and directing light from said trough against the trough face of said pattern.

2. A kaleidoscopic designing device comprising: a pair of elongated inwardly facing reflecting surfaces lying together along one of their long sides and being spaced apart along their other long sides to form a V-shaped trough; an objective lens positioned to receive reflected rays from said surfaces at one extremity of said trough; a design receiving surface upon which the rays from said lens are focused; a rotatable pattern disc supported at the other extremity of said trough; means for attaching a pattern to said disc so that an image thereof will be reflected in said reflecting surfaces; a movable support for said disc; means pivotally mounting said disc on said support; and means for moving said support in consequence of the rotation of said disc so that the pattern may be simultaneously oscillated and rotated across the axis of said trough; and means for illuminating said pattern.

3. A Kaleidoscopic designing device comprising: a pair of elongated inwardly facing reflecting surfaces lying together along one of their long sides and being spaced apart along their other long sides to form a V-shaped trough; an objective lens positioned to receive reflected rays from said surfaces at one extremity of said trough; a design receiving surface upon which the rays from said lens are focused; a rotatable pattern disc supported at the other extremity of said trough; means for attaching a pattern to said disc so that an image thereof will be reflected in said reflecting surfaces; means for mounting said disc eccentrically; laterally shiftable means supporting said mounting means so that said pattern disc may be moved bodily across the axis of said trough; and means for rotating said disc about its eccentric axis.

4. A kaleidoscopic designing device comprising: a pair of elongated mirrors facing toward each other and being spaced apart along one of their long edges to form a V-shaped trough; means for focusing an image reflected by said mirrors upon a design card; a rotatable pattern disc; a pattern shaft supporting said disc; a swinging sector arm supporting said pattern shaft; a pattern gear mounted on said shaft; a swinging lever arm hingedly mounted adjacent said gear; a center pin carried by said lever arm, there being a plurality of pin receiving sockets in said pattern gear at different eccentric positions from the axis of the latter adapted to selectively receive said center pin to vary the eccentricity of said pattern gear; means for rotating said pattern gear to simultaneously rotate and oscillate said pattern disc; and means for illuminating said pattern disc.

5. Means for supporting a pattern in the viewing opening of a kaleidoscopic designing device comprising: a sector arm pivoted at one extremity adjacent said viewing opening so as to swing thereover; a pattern shaft rotatably carried by said sector arm parallel to the axis of the pivot of the latter; a pattern disc mounted on one extremity of said shaft; means for securing a pattern to said disc; a rotary element mounted on the other extremity of said shaft; a fulcrum lever pivoted at its one extremity adjacent said rotary element and adapted to swing thereover; and means mounting the other extremity of said fulcrum lever on said rotary element eccentric of the axis of the latter so that rotation of said pattern disc will oscillate said sector arm.

6. Means for supporting a pattern in the viewing opening of a kaleidoscopic designing device comprising: a sector arm pivoted at one extremity adjacent said viewing opening so as to swing thereover; a pattern shaft rotatably carried by said sector arm parallel to the axis of the pivot of the latter; a pattern disc mounted on one extremity of said shaft; means for securing a pattern to said disc; a rotary element mounted on the other extremity of said shaft; a fulcrum lever pivoted at its one extremity adjacent said rotary element and adapted to swing thereover; means mounting the other extremity of said fulcrum lever on said rotary element eccentric of the axis of the latter so that rotation of said pattern disc will oscillate said sector arm; means for varying the eccentricity of said other extremity of the fulcrum lever with reference to the axis of said rotary element; means for rotating said rotary element; and an indexing device indicating the rotative positions of said rotary element.

CHARLES F. J. DES MOINEAUX.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,406,663 Lovstrom Feb. 14, 1922 1,712,431 Hadley May 7, 1929 1,944,111 Schieren Jan. 16, 1934 1,990,867 Harvey Feb. 12, 1935 2,099,904 Pennington et a1. Nov. 23, 1937 2,152,424 Wetmore Mar. 28, 1939 2,173,162 Gilluly Sept. 19, 1939 2,329,112 Eddy Sept. 7, 1943 2,373,929 Turrentini Apr. 17, 1945 2,493,237 Eddy Jan. 3, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 239,628 Great Britain Sept. 17, 1925 

